


Because I Choose to

by Rikkichi



Series: the Fern and the Cactus [1]
Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship, living story 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9513524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkichi/pseuds/Rikkichi
Summary: It was evening, the first time he visited. Canach had not been expecting any visitors, least of allhim.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a story about Canach and the Commander, about how they came together and got to know each other, but when I started writing it I decided it didn't really work as a multi-chapter fic. So instead it's going to be several one-shot stories, all independent of each other but a part of a much larger story. They're not going to follow the dialogue from Guild Wars 2 word-for-word, but the general story will be largely the same. I will be making minor changes for the sake of a smooth narration, and also to add the romance between Canach and the Commander, but that's it.
> 
> I'm not going to be using a name for the Commander, as I don't really like the idea of naming him specifically. But this is going to be a male Sylvari Commander who is a necromancer (and later a reaper) for reasons that will make sense eventually.

Prisons were, by and large, the same. It didn't matter who had made them or how they were maintained, they always ended up the same: dark, oppressive, and demeaning. Canach had been in enough prisons in his lifetime to know this for a fact. The faces that held him captive may have changed, but the end result was always the same.

Not that he was complaining, of course. His thoughts on the matter would remain exactly that. He had earned this, after all, and he was set on serving his time. Whenever anyone asked, Canach just told them that he would serve his sentence. No more, no less. Even as his prison changed from a portside fort to a cage in the middle of a mountainside, he still did not complain. At least his safety was guaranteed here, unlike certain other moments of captivity he had experienced in the past.

(He still did not forgive the Asura for what had happened, all those years ago. Even if the Inquest was to blame, he would hold onto that bitterness until the day he died.)

The days and weeks passed in relative silence, and all Canach could do was wait. He knew how long his sentence would be, and he was reasonably sure that he would still be alive at the end of it. Nobody knew how long the Sylvari lived, but he figured he would at least get a 2-year warning when he eventually reached the end of his life. That was one of the benefits of being a secondborn, in his mind. Let the firstborn be the first to explore, to set the standard, to serve their Mother. He was content to be second, just as he was content to sit in this cell.

Which is to say, he was not actually content at all, but lying to himself about it made it easier to deal with.

It was evening, the first time he visited. Canach had not been expecting any visitors, least of all _him_ , and he frowned as he watched the other Sylvari walk over to his cage. Since it was getting on in the evening, nobody else was in the immediate area, though he was sure that members of the Vigil were nearby waiting for Canach to say or do anything out of line. He never would, of course, but nobody took him at his word anymore.

"Commander."

The Sylvari standing in front of Canach smiled at that. He seemed so small now, though Canach figured that it was probably because the cage he was in had a raised floor, making their height difference even greater. But despite his tiny stature, the Commander seemed almost larger than life. Canach had heard the stories before, of the formation of the Pact and the fight against Zhaitan. Despite being a newborn, this Sylvari had already made quite the name for himself. To have such a visitor was…well, Canach didn't see it as an honor, but he was sure others would call it that.

"What are you doing here?" Canach's question showed his confusion, though he was still trying to keep up that stony exterior. Nothing ever bothered him, or so he liked to make other people think.

"I was in the area, and I decided to drop in for a visit," the Commander said off-handedly, as if it were no big deal.

"I'm surprised they even let you in," Canach responded, "They have tightened their guard since the attack on Lion's Arch."

"I was a Warmaster before I was a Commander," the Commander answered simply. Then, in a surprising move, he lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged in front of Canach's cage. "We have some time. Let's talk."

Canach scoffed at that. "About what? My actions at Southsun? My time here in prison? If you're looking for stories to lull you to sleep, you've come to the wrong place."

"None of the above, actually. Let's talk about Lion's Arch." 

That frown Canach wore only deepened. He had an idea of where this was going, and he really didn't want to talk about it for the hundredth time. "What do you want to know?"

The Commander propped his arm up on one of his knees, which in turn was used to prop his chin up. "A little bird told me you had a chance to escape in the chaos that Scarlet brought, but you didn't. Why?"

The answer Canach gave was one he had given so many times before, one that he knew by heart and didn't even have to think about as he spoke. "I've had my fill of being a fugitive. I intend to serve my full sentence and walk out of here without encumbrance."

"But why?"

"Because, as I said, I want to repay my debt to society and be free of the burden of my crimes."

"But _why_ ," the Commander said again, putting more emphasis on that last word. Which, in turn, started to make Canach become annoyed. 

"Asking again and again isn't going to change my answer," Canach said, his irritation beginning to show in his words, "Why do you even care in the first place? You probably have a thousand other things to worry about right now."

Instead of answering Canach's question, the Commander went on a tangent of his own. "You're strong, Canach. You're good at laying low, at putting together plans that pay off in the long run. You had the chance to run away and be free, without this notion of 'doing what's right' and 'serving your time.' Lion's Arch is in shambles, there's another dragon to deal with, and nobody would have had the time to chase you down." He paused for a second, before bringing his statement back around to his original question. "So, why?"

Admittedly, the Commander's words did get Canach to stop and think. Why did he do that? Was it some perceived notion of doing what was right? Did the teachings of Ventari still reach him so deeply that he would follow them without question? Or did he perhaps have what humans called 'a conscience', and thus couldn't bring himself to do the wrong thing anymore?

Canach didn't have an answer to any of those questions. But after thinking for a moment, he did have an answer for the Commander's. "Because I choose to."

That answer seemed to satisfy the Commander. Nodding finally, he stood up. "I will come see you again soon," he said.

Canach was almost disappointed. Almost. "Going so soon? Aren't you the one who said we had time to talk?"

"And aren't you the one who said I have a thousand other things to worry about right now?" The Commander was still smiling, but there was something playful about that smile that hadn't been there before. It was…intriguing. It made Canach want to know more.

"True." Canach shrugged. "Well, you know where to find me. I doubt I will be going anywhere anytime soon."

Still smiling, the Commander gave Canach a little bow. "By your leave, then."

Canach wasn't sure what the Commander had hoped to find out, or even if he had actually gotten the answer he had been looking for. Sure, he looked satisfied, but Canach felt like he hadn't told him much of anything. And why did it even matter anyway? Canach was but one man in world full of people with their own problems. Surely he wasn't that interesting.

But still, Canach found himself looking forward to the next time the Commander visited. He couldn't say what it was, but that short conversation had stirred something within him. And though he had no proof, no vision from Mother to guide his thoughts, he had a feeling that he and the Commander would be talking a lot more in the coming months.

Somehow, that thought excited him.


End file.
